GDT: first three game winning streak of the season gdt vs stars

[Ole Gil]

Darling has been OK. His SV% is poor, but we're not that far into the season and he is seeing high quality scoring chances in spite of the Cane's continued good shot suppression numbers...worst case for goalies...see low amount of shots, but they are tough ones.

Can you imagine if Ward had started 5 of the first 6 and was sub-900...HFCanes would be frothing at the mouth...new guy gets some deserved slack though...anyways, I think we'll have to wait a bit to see if Darling is actually an upgrade from Ward as a starter. As a fan of the team I hope he is...but calling it now is irrational exuberance.

That's the worry. That it's not Darling's fault his sv% is low. A lot of the this seasons success rides on Cam being the problem in the past.

 

[GoCanes2015]

Faulk all of you. Anyone participating in this is an Aho. It Burns me to see these kinds of threads. It should be shut down right Quick. This Fleury of silliness is disturbing. While I'm sitting here Slavin at work, others are goofing off. When I get Backstrom work, I will feed my Beagle and get serious about all this

 

[sheriff bart]

At least Darling hasn't been Mr Softee this year. Most of the ones he's let in have been pretty nifty

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Darling has been just "OK". Looked great at times, and not so great at times. If roles were reversed and Ward had the same performance in net as Darling has to date, this board would be up in arms. I understand that though as we have a much bigger sample size of Ward's play vs. just 5 games of Darling. Not going to read anything into it yet, but we need our goal-tending to be at least middle of the pack when it comes to SV% or we are going to struggle in this division.

The defense and goalies have their work cut out for them with TB and Toronto the next 2 games. They are scoring at a rate of 4-5 goals / game on average.

 

[GoldiFox]

I'm not buying any narrative that Darling's low SV% is an issue. I watched the games, the guy has been on par with an average league starter. He was money in the shootout which is definitely a noticeable change.

Could Cam Ward have developed into something that he hasn't been for a decade and been a better starter? Seems far-fetched.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I'm not buying any narrative that Darling's low SV% is an issue. I watched the games, the guy has been on par with an average league starter. He was money in the shootout which is definitely a noticeable change.

With 5 games under his belt, his SV% is pretty meaningless, but that's not the point I'm on. By mid-season, when there is a big enough sample size, it should level out and we need him to be at least middle of the pack. If not, we are going to struggle.

Could Cam Ward have developed into something that he hasn't been for a decade and been a better starter? Seems far-fetched.

I don't see anybody here saying that at all.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

For reference, here were the teams that were bottom 10 in SV% in the NHL last year

30: Dallas;
29: Colorado
28: WPG
27: Car
26: Phi
25: Det
24: Bos
23: LAK
22: NJD
21: CGY

Of those 10 teams, only 2: Boston (who barely snuck in from a weak division) and Calgary made the playoffs. Conversely, of the top 10 teams in SV%, all but one of them (Buffalo) were playoff teams. Of the top 15 teams in SV%, only Buffalo and Florida (who was #15) didn't make the playoffs. Granted, more than goalie play goes into SV% and this information is nothing earth shattering and fairly obvious. Without at least a middle of the road goalie in terms of SV%, it's going to be tough to make the playoffs, especially when the team can't score.

As I said, 5 games is too small of a sample size to make any real assessment right now though.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Too early to tell, as far as Darling goes, but what BBA said is true. Say the roles were reversed, and Ward had the .898 SV% playing the same as Darling has thus far. I doubt many would be so willing to give him the same benefit of a doubt.

 

[bluedevil58]

Still too early to tell what we have with Darling. So instead of making early judgments... Sit back, grab a cosmopolitan, smoke a dooby, and relax.

 

[Unsustainable]

Still too early to tell what we have with Darling. So instead of making early judgments... Sit back, grab a cosmopolitan, smoke a dooby, and relax.

 

[GoldiFox]

With 5 games under his belt, his SV% is pretty meaningless, but that's not the point I'm on. By mid-season, when there is a big enough sample size, it should level out and we need him to be at least middle of the pack. If not, we are going to struggle.



I don't see anybody here saying that at all.

Ah - I figured Cam Ward being constantly mentioned was in an effort to compare. I see now it is something more political.

In any case, the number that matter to me coming home from the State Fair road trip are 3-2-1. I think Darling's contribution has been significantly more positive towards that result than negative. 10/10 would sign again.

 

[The Faulker 27]

Darling is a winner.

 

[Wolfpuck]

I'm not worried about Darling. The two games that skew his numbers are the two games the Canes didn't remember to play defense.

 

[The Faulker 27]

Sit back, grab a cosmopolitan, smoke a dooby, and relax.

Done. Now what? Do I keep going until the game tomorrow or....

 

[Breakdowns]

if we are worried about Darling after 5 games, something is wrong with us

Let`s give this guy a fair chance

 

[WreckingCrew]

I'm not worried about Darling. The two games that skew his numbers are the two games the Canes didn't remember to play defense.

Kind of my thoughts so far as well...he got hung out to dry in Minnesotta and against Dallas. He's made some tough saves, made most of the saves he should save, but not really lots of softies so far. I'm willing to give him 10 games for his stats to start balancing out before crucifying him.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

McGinn is on pace for a 65 pt season.

 

[MinJaBen]

That's the worry. That it's not Darling's fault his sv% is low. A lot of the this seasons success rides on Cam being the problem in the past.

I think Wally hits the real concern for me here. I have little doubt that Darling is a good goalie, so if his save percentage stays low, we have bigger and more systemic concerns. We were a very good shot suppression team last year, but we gave up a high percentage of the shots that were high danger shots. I was happy when we made a play for Darling because he was great at high danger shots...but being great at those still means a save percentage in the mid 0.800s. Way better than Wardo's and Lacko Taco's upper .700s, but still a problem if there are too many of those types of shots.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

But I do think Peter's system can allow for more high quality scoring chances. He has his defensemen playing very aggressively and with tight gaps both at the other team's blue line and in the neutral zone. When you do that, you disrupt the other team's ability to get transition through the neutral zone and into the Canes zone and can control possession. It doesn't leave a lot of room for error though if you mess up. I didn't see the Dallas game, but the Minnesota game had a number of defensive gaffs (most notably by Hanifin and TVR) which led to breakaways, odd man rushes, and prime scoring chances.

Slavin excels at this style because he's a very good skater, he reads and anticipates plays so incredibly well, and he has phenomenal stick work that breaks up plays and/or recovers if minor mistakes are made.

Still, we are talking about a 5 game sample size here where the team is 2-2-1 over his 5 starts. Let's see where he lands in terms of SV% about 20 games in.

 

[RodTheBawd]

I'm a goalie apologist, so I don't think the problem has been Darling, but lets not kid ourselves about whether or not Ward would be getting crucified at this point. Wally makes a great point and that is a big concern. I felt like Darling would be a better goalie for this team, but I also know f*** all about how goalies fit into systems.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

whose turn is it to make a gdt

 

[RodTheBawd]

I choose YOU, @bluedevil58

 

[MinJaBen]

whose turn is it to make a gdt

Whoever it is will likely not have to do many in a row...this four day stretch is pretty brutal. I'm hoping for two points out of the six.

 

[AD Skinner]

It's a bummer having to play the stars and lightning in a row- I feel like those are two teams we always struggle against

 

[GoldiFox]

I think Wally hits the real concern for me here. I have little doubt that Darling is a good goalie, so if his save percentage stays low, we have bigger and more systemic concerns. We were a very good shot suppression team last year, but we gave up a high percentage of the shots that were high danger shots. I was happy when we made a play for Darling because he was great at high danger shots...but being great at those still means a save percentage in the mid 0.800s. Way better than Wardo's and Lacko Taco's upper .700s, but still a problem if there are too many of those types of shots.

The schedule to start the season was brutal. Long stretches without games plus West Coast travel. For a system to work well it needs some rhythm. I'm hoping we see that systemic or game-flow improvement during this week's home stand.